On Sunday night and into early Monday morning, most people on Earth were able to experience the “blood moon” phenomenon. The last time this phenomenon occurred was 33 years ago, on July 6^th, 1982, and is estimated to return in 2033. Viewers on the East Coast of North America were in an optimal position for viewing this spectacle. NASA scientist, Dr. Sarah Noble summarized the event for the New York Times by saying, “You’re basically seeing all the sunrises and sunsets in the world, all at once, being reflected off the surface of the moon.” This occurs because a full moon reaches the closest it possibly can to Earth on its elliptical orbit and is hidden from the sun by Earth. This illusion makes the moon appear to have a larger diameter while the eclipse accounts for the moon’s red tint. The eclipse was estimated to begin at 9:07 PM and the reddish tint was believed to be visible at approximately 10:11 PM because it would be completely shaded from the sun by Earth.

While some people were excited about the astrological event, others feared that it meant that the world would end due to the beliefs of some religious leaders that believe that this event means a major turning point on Earth. This super blood moon is the fourth to appear within four years. This series is known as a tetrad. Many religious leaders and followers fear that the blood moon signals the beginning of apocalyptic events due to biblical suggestions and previous tragedies that have occurred during a tetrad lunar series. In Jewish history, conflicts such as the Spanish Inquisition of 1493 and the Six Day War, which was fought in 1967 in Jerusalem, all coincide with the occurrence of a tetrad of blood moons. Some believe that this tetrad signifies major change in the near future, others merely believe that the super blood moon shows the beginning of major worldly changes. For this specific tetrad, Jewish pastor Mark Biltz has proclaimed since 2008 that significant change is expected and believes that it will come in the form of a major Israeli war or an economic collapse.

NASA has calmed those who are afraid of what this moon phase means by reassuring that they know of no asteroid or comet that is projected to collide with Earth for at least hundreds of years but for those that believe Mark Biltz’s words, the dissemination of plausible physical facts yields no consolation for the belief in the supernatural.